A TRIP TO BOWLAND.

On an unsettled and windy day weatherwise a trip to Bowland was the order of the day.The upper reaches of the River Wyre was the first port of call and a newly fledged dipper was seen being fed by the parents,closer to Scorton a few sandmartins were bickering over nest holes on a very small and rocky bank while a pied wagtail was collecting insects to feed the young wagtails hidden away in a wall.I`ve posted a few images captured on my enjoyable day out.

ADDERS IN BOWLAND.

Early in March I made a couple of visite to the Bowland Fells to photograph the Adders,I managed to get close to the Adders and have posted a few of my many efforts below.The last photograph is my feeble effort to capture an image with a wide angle lens,must try better.

NEWTON MARSH KILLERS.

Three or four times this winter down at Newton Marsh I`ve witnessed  a GREAT BACKED GULL and a PEREGRINE FALCON attacking the Wigeon flock at the same time, hopeing to be successful by the confusion they cause. To see with one`s own eyes this spectacle is amazing but to capture images of the event with the camera as the story unfolds was I thought almost impossible. This was the first time I`ve seen one be successful and to my suprise the GBBG was the one to capture a Wigeon,it took aprox 12 mins for the GBBG to kill the Wigeon while being mobbed by the PF.After a while the GBBG had had enough of the PF and got up of the Marsh to chase the PF away,but after a short distance the rolls were reversed and the falcon turned on the gull attacking it.The gull flew off and the falcon dived into the water dragging the Wigeon to the bank were it started to feast on its trophy.Who would have thought that the PF would have scavenged of a GBBG kill.I`ve posted images of the event as they unfold even though they are only distant record shots.NATURE IN THE RAW.

AN ODD MIXTURE OF PHOTOS.

A female goldeneye at Mere Sands Wood and an Advocet at Marshside before returning to Newton Marsh were a Greylag Goose flew over,a Little Grebe was diving for sticklebacks and the Coots were fighting over territories as the breeding season starts.A record shot of a MERLIN at distance and into the light was a good tick for the Marsh.Finishing of with an image of the River Ribble at sunset from the Bull Nose at Preston Dock.

HASLAM PARK GOOSANDERS.

Less than a mile away as the crow flies from my abode lies Haslam Park and its duck pond and at times over the last few winters Goosanders have used the pond as a night roosting spot.A few weeks ago upto 5 Goosanders had been seen early morning but soon flew off to their feeding grounds as the dog walkers appeared. I was lucky enough to catch one on the pond in wonderful evening light but had to shoot a fully 2 stops underexposed so as not to burn the white on the bird out.I`ve posted a few images of the bird and love  the way the light and underexposure have worked.

WATER RAIL AT NEWTON MARSH.

I`ve always suspected that a water rail would be seen at Newton Marsh sooner or later and in early january I had a brief glimpse of one.I visited a few times over the next couple of weeks and with a bit of patience and a lot of luck I managed a few images of the rail some of which I have posted below.This was the first water rail on the marsh for me and a great tick for my local patch.

SCORTON PICNIC AREA.

I visited Scorton on monday and even though it was not exactly picnic weather it was probably the best day of the year so far.I photographed the snowdrops and then settled down at the feeding station and had an enjoyable few hours photographing the local birds a few of  my efforts are posted below.